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Draft Target Species Suitable Habitat March 6, 2000 Whooping Crane IMPORTANCE OF THE PLATTE RIVER Based on a preponderance of sightings along the Platte River in Nebraska during 1820 to 1948, Allen (1952) believed whooping cranes made the Platte River a major stopover. The Aransas -Wood Buffalo population commonly uses the Platte River during both spring and fall migrations. Most observations on the Platte River occur during April and October, but sightings outside these months are not uncommon. Not all whooping cranes are observed or reported; the number of reported whooping crane sightings represent only the minimum number of observed stopovers. Confirmed reports of whooping cranes along the Platte River are received more often during the spring migration than during the fall. During spring, recorded stopovers along the Platte River are higher than any other stopover site within the species' range (Figure IA). Confirmed whooping crane sightings along the Platte River during the spring migration have occurred between March 9 and May 14 (Table 1 -1). Fall sightings of whooping cranes are less common than spring sightings along the Platte River (Figure 1B), and the number of records is less than in critical habitat areas of Kansas and Oklahoma. Fall whooping crane sightings along the Platte River have been as far east as Hamilton County and as far west as Morrill County, Nebraska. Since 1928, the earliest confirmed fall reports of whooping cranes anywhere in Nebraska is October 1. Based on arrival dates at Aransas, however, some whooping cranes likely migrate through the state during the latter part of September. Only three confirmed sightings have occurred in Nebraska after November 10. Four important migrational habitat areas are designated as critical habitat for the whooping crane: Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma; Quivira National Wildlife Refuge and Cheyenne Bottoms State Wildlife Area, Kansas; and the Platte River Valley, Nebraska (50 CFR 17.95). The critical habitat of the Platte River is a 3 -mile wide, 56 -mile long segment between Lexington and Denman, Nebraska (Figure 1C). The following factors were used by the U.S. Department of the Interior in making the critical habitat determination for the Platte River: 1. The Platte River bottoms provide a dependable source of food, water, and other nutritional or physiological needs for the whooping crane during spring and fall migrations. Insects, crayfish, frogs, small fish, and other small animals as well as some aquatic vegetation and some cereal crops in adjacent croplands appear to be major items taken during the migration period.